The massive antiwar rallies across the United States and other Western countries have categorically demonstrated that Donald Trump and his government’s war on Iran has become highly unpopular. They also reflect that people understand the huge propaganda that is unleashed through the crony corporate media, which is part and parcel of the entire US game plan to create a fake narrative and legitimize their intervention.
Kidnapping a duly elected president in the name of his support for the “drug mafia” and then pushing your puppet as president in Venezuela is simply because you want to shamelessly capture Venezuelan oil. So the Venezuelan president was bad, but what about the Colombian president, whom the deep state now wants to target?
A tiny island nation like Cuba has faced American barbarism for the past seventy years. What is your greatness in not allowing basic amenities to Cuba? Why do you hate Cuba that much when you are shining, you are the best, the greatest people on earth? When you are the greatest of the great, special people, God’s chosen ones, then why do you need to steal the natural resources of other countries?
Now, Venezuela, Cuba and Colombia are in the backyard of America and are very small countries. Despite the fact that they are strategically important for the United States with enormous natural resources, why did the US decide to jump into the Persian Gulf at the behest of Israel to target Iran? They bombed Iran last year and suddenly claimed victory, suggesting that Iran’s nuclear programme was completely destroyed. When you destroyed everything last year, then why did you go again?
Every country has a right to defend itself fully when war is imposed on it. Iran was within its right to retaliate. The media narrative as to why Iran was targeting “innocent” neighbours is simply laughable when things are well known: these countries host American military bases, and without them, the US forces could not have done anything.
In the last thirty years, we have seen American and NATO interventions from Kosovo to Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Gaza and the West Bank, and now Iran. Obviously, NATO is not part of the last two things, as Israel has become the senior partner. Can the US and its allies ever say that all their interventions “brought democracy” to these countries?
The thing is that Western media first create an uncivilised image of a society and a system to legitimise American violation of the sovereignty of those countries. Libya was a great nation, united under one leader who wanted to unite Africa, but then that was not acceptable to France. Saddam Hussein was a “secular liberal dictator” when he attacked Iran with the help of Americans, but became a villain when he started asserting himself.
We have seen how a liberal Assad in Syria was replaced by a man who was part of ISIS and other such organisations banned by the United States. Despite all the wrongs with these countries and societies, they were definitely not a threat to the United States, which is far away and far more powerful.
The latest in the series, prior to intervention in Iran, was the genocide carried out in Gaza. Who will make Israel accountable for all its crimes against humanity? The problem with the “liberal democratic” West is that anything questioning Israel is termed antisemitism.
Experts say that war too has rules: warring nations or parties will not target civilians, hospitals, aid workers, schools, colleges and other such institutions, including energy infrastructure as well as media. What has happened in Gaza puts humanity to shame. An entire generation of people were killed and nations watched helplessly. The United Nations looked useless during the entire period; except for making a few statements, they had no courage.
A pattern has been developed by Israel and the United States all these years. It looks as if their main agenda is to destroy civilian infrastructure, hospitals, aid workers, universities and institutions. The killing of 160 innocent children was not an isolated incident, as these things continue to be targeted.
Israel has killed numerous journalists in this war, both in Gaza and in Lebanon. Some of these journalists worked defiantly and were committed to bringing their reports to the people.
Now Iran has given a befitting reply, which neither Israel nor the United States ever expected. This happens when we are arrogant and feel that all others who disagree with us know nothing. This war has definitely brought destruction to Iran, but elsewhere too. The global economy is collapsing, but the brighter side is that de-dollarisation will grow. It has already started growing, as countries will start finding their way out to get away from so-called sanctions.
Today, the world is interconnected, but all parties need to show respect to each other. You cannot bully nations and decide from whom they should get their business.
This war has also broken the lies woven carefully around the “liberal” media about Iran. Yes, Iran is a powerful country with a great civilisation. Moreover, any country that has self-respect will fight to the end to protect its sovereignty. We fought against the British Empire, and at that time too many suggested, “How can you fight against a mighty empire?” but our freedom movement leaders had faith in the people.
No self-respecting country would ever accept how to govern and what is good for them from an external force. Iran and the Iranian people are the sole deciders of their country’s way of life, and that should be respected. It is the spirit of Iranian nationalism that people are ready to fight.
The war must end, but no peace is possible if it is just meant to buy time and regroup. For the last fifty years, Iran has faced economic sanctions like Cuba, but it has stood its ground.
The image created around Iran was of women living within four walls, of mullahs speaking loudly and nobody going to school. Today, one can see that Iran has more than ninety-nine percent literacy, and its Majlis has the most educated leaders in the world. The percentage of women doctors in Iran is much higher than in India. Iran is a powerhouse of science and philosophy. If the Western media want to make comparisons, they should do so with their friends in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and elsewhere.
The AI memes being created by Iranians are simply outstanding. You can watch men and women reporters reporting so well. So this war has broken the myths and lies created around Iran by the corporate media.
Iran actually is fighting a war against Western cultural, economic and military hegemony. That does not mean they should not have any relations. We all must have relations, but it is time that a long‑term peaceful solution is found to the problems in different parts of the world. But then what is the problem? Can’t Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar etc. speak to each other on their own?
The issue is not that simple. The private monopolies on energy are the root cause. Iran nationalised it in the mid‑1950s, and that is why it became the hate figure. Indira Gandhi did it in India in 1970, and the CIA turned against her. I can bet that if we dig further into what resulted in Indira Gandhi’s defeat in 1977, you will find that chaos and anarchy were engineered because of 1969, which was opposed by people like Morarji Desai, who was finance minister.
Historically, every country that nationalised its banks and natural resources like coal mines, forests, land and water became a target of vicious Western propaganda. The histories of South Africa, Cuba, Bolivia, Colombia, Libya and Iran are the same, related to the rights of indigenous people, management of natural resources and opposition to privatisation.
Let us see what happens in the Persian Gulf. We hope good sense will prevail. The people are against war everywhere, but no peace is possible unless a lasting solution is found. But will it be possible if the interests of big corporations are not taken care of?
More importantly, where are Russia and China in this entire game? India could have played a bigger role, but at the moment it cannot because of its relations with Israel. Negotiations are important, but somewhere Russia, China and India will have to be part of the peace process in West Asia; otherwise, no peace would be achievable there.
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*Human rights defender
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